Thursday, February 09, 2006

Weekly Report

By Tiger Fan

Tiger notes…-I would comment on the men’s basketball team, but this site exists to discuss Division I athletics and I’m not sure the Tigers qualify. The only remaining question is whether I should wear a paper bag or a popcorn bucket over my head when I attend the last home game of the Quin Snyder era next month.

-College baseball season is here, but it didn’t start exactly how the Tigers had hoped. Mizzou lost its opener against Eastern Tennessee State on Thursday 3-2. But fear not Tiger fans, we’re not alone. No. 1 Texas started the season 0-3 after being swept by San Diego. The worse news for the Tigers is the condition of ace Max Scherzer. He was scheduled to start in the opener until he slammed his pitching hand in a car door Tuesday night. The injury to his middle finger is apparently not serious, but he could be out for at least two weeks. The real question at this point is why someone as good as Scherzer even has to open his own doors. I’m sure this will come to an end soon if there’s any truth to the rumors that he is planning to sign with Scott Boras.

-LaToya Bond was named the Big XII Player of the Week for the second time this season after averaging 25.5 points in a two-game span that kept the Tigers tied for second in the conference.

-The Missouri wrestling team upset No. 10 Oklahoma on Sunday, earning its first win in Big XII action. In the victory, No. 1-ranked Ben Askren became the fastest Tiger wrestler to reached 100 career wins. It was Askren’s 34th straight victory.

-The season is underway for the men’s golf team, but they haven’t fared as well as some of the other non-revenue sports. In their first tournament in Ponte Vendra, Fla., the Tigers finished 11th with UCLA winning the overall title. The highest finisher for Mizzou was senior Chris Mabry, who tied for 19th. The good news? The Tiger golfers got to spend the first weekend in February in Florida.

-As you may know, this is the 100th Anniversary of Mizzou basketball. As part of the centennial celebration, Mizzou will unveil its All-Century team on Sunday as the Tigers take on K-State. Clearly, it makes sense to celebrate this but here are the issues I have about Sunday’s “event”:

1. First of all, the press release begins with this phrase: “It's a game that not only appeals to the senses (after all, Missouri is playing rival Kansas State), but tugs at the emotions as well.” Let’s break this down. How does a game between two mediocre teams -- one of whom has been pummeled in six straight games (Hint: that's us) -- “appeal to the senses”? (Answer: It doesn’t) Since when is Kansas State a rival on the basketball court? (Answer: Never) And finally, the only emotion that will surface on Sunday is anger when Tigers fans see former stars like Sundvold, Stiponavich and Peeler and remember that we used to be good.

2. Why is this being held against KSU? Nothing against the Wildcats, but you either do this against kU or you do it for the last home game of the season. What genius in the athletic department looked at the schedule and thought, “Hey, let’s schedule this big event for the third-to-last home game of the season against a mediocre opponent that will still probably beat us?”

3. The fact that this was poor timing is obvious in the press release. Tickets for Sunday’s “big game” are still on sale for as little as $10. Are you kidding me? 10 freakin’ dollars! Why don’t they just beg people to come? Can you tell they are worried about having a half-empty stadium for the All-Century celebration? I can… and they should be. Happy anniversary, Tigers.

Quick-hit non-Mizzou thoughts…If you go back and check my Super Bowl predictions, you’ll find that I went 8 for 10. Not bad at all… I find it fascinating that after years of avoiding the international spotlight, a set of cartoons has made Denmark the focal point of an international incident. Yes, cartoons people. CARTOONS. It’s my understanding that Islam is upset about the cartoons because Muhammed is not supposed depicted, but I think they need to lighten up a bit. Other religions (i.e. Christianity, Judaism, Hinduism, etc.) are made fun of all the time. A joke is a joke. Ever hear the one about a priest, a rabbi and Angelina Jolie? Okay, I made that up, but you get the point. Should America’s Catholic population riot every time Jay Leno cracks a pedophile joke? Should Jewish people have declared war on FOX after Family Guy’s “When You Wish Upon a Weinstein" episode? The Muslims of the world have a right to be angry. They have a right to complain. They have a right to protest peacefully. But they don’t have the right to kill innocent people because of a cartoon… I shall now descend from the soapbox… I’m not quite ready to join my friend Scott and ESPN columnist Bill Simmons as the world’s only remaining NBA fans, but I have to say that the star power of players like Dwyane Wade, LeBron James and Kobe Bryant is starting to pull me in. Maybe the league now has 2.5 fans. In any event, I’m by no means an expert, but here are my midseason playoff picks (in order): In the East I’ll take Detroit, Miami, Cleveland, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Milwaukee, Indiana and Washington. In the West I’ll take San Antonio, Dallas, Phoenix, Denver, LA Clippers, Memphis, LA Lakers, and New Orleans/Oklahoma City… Yes, it’s true: I have started a Fantasy Olympics league with my friends from Cincinnati. For all the details, go here… I went back to the black background for this site because it seems more indicative of the mood currently surrounding the MU basketball program…